Building unit



March 18, 194 1.

E. T. PUTNAM 2,2 5

BUILDING unm- Filed June 11, 1957 4 SheetQ-Sheet l gwua/wfm', EFL/5 7.VPUT'NAM.

\ Much 1-8, 194 E. 1'. PUTNAM BUILDING UNIT 4 Sheath-Sheet 3 Filed June11, 1937 gwuc/wto'o EFLE 7. PUT/VAN.

March 18, 1941. E. T. PUTNAM aummm mm:

Filed June 11, 1937 4 shuns-Sheet 4 1 A av EKLE T PuT/vAM.

til the block in place in the wall.

Mar. 18, 1941- I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUILDING UNIT Eric T.Putnam, Detroit, Mich, assignor to lillzlbey-wens-Ford Glass Company,Toledo,

Application June 11, 193?,SerialNo. 147,691,

14 Claims. (01. 72-18) The present invention relates to an improvedOther objects and advantages of the invention type of building unitprimarily adapted for use in will become more apparent during the courseof the construction of the exterior wallsoi buildings. the followingdescription when taken in connec- Clhe. building unit of the inventionconsists tion with the accompanying drawings.

ii briefly of a composite block comprising a body In the drawingswhereinlike numerals are portion formed from a plastic material such asemployed to designate like parts throughout the concrete or the like,and an ornamental facing same, therefor consisting preferably of a sheetor plate Fig. l is a front elevation of a portion of a of opaque glass,although ceramic tile may be wall constructed in accordance with theinven- W used in some instances desired. The ornation;

mental face plate is firmly secured to the body Fig. 2 is a front viewof one of the glass or portion by an interposed layer of adhesivemaother ornamental face plates and the metal frame terlal such asasphaltic mastic cement and'also members associated therewith, the faceplate by mechanical fastening means in the form of being partiallybroken away to more clearly show metal frame members engaging both theornathe frame members; 5

mental face plate and bodyportion. In con- Fig. 3 is a verticalsectional view through the structing a wall ,with building blocks of theinwall taken substantially o l 3% vention, the blocks are laid up incourses in subg. 4 t a p Vi oi o e o t e metal blan s stantially thesame manner as cut stone, granite, from which the frame members areformed;

til or terracotta, being preferably anchored to a rear 5 s a pe p View oone of the metal 2 or foundation wall. frame members stamped from theblank shown .iln important objectof the invention is the inFimd;provision of improved means for mechanically Fig. d is a verticalsectional view through a securing the glass or other ornamental faceplate Portion t a W e dying a slight y modified to the body portion ofthe block in a manner to 0t blmk; will firmly loclr the said facing andbody portion to- Fig. 'l is a view slar to Fig- 6 but S ow gatherwhereby all danger of the facing becomstill another form of bloclr.

ing accidentally displaced will be eliminated. With reference to thedrawings a Particulallnother important object of the invention is larlyto Figs. l to 5, in which is disclosed one form m the provision ofmechanical fastening means enof bloclr provldedby the invention, Adesignates gaging boththe glass or other ornamental face the rear orfoundation wall andh the front or plate and the body portion and being.of such exterior wall constructed of the improved buildconstruction andarrangement that when the ing blocks. le the rear wall a is shown asbloclrs are laid up in courses in a wall, the face consisting ofconventional briclrs or blocks is laid plates will not support any ofthe structural load in the usual manner with mortar it, the said wall 35of the wall, thereby reducing to a minimum liaay be of any other desiredconstruction. bility of breakage or chipping oi the said facing. Thebuilding bloclrs used in constructing the idtill another importantobject of the invention exterior wall B may be of any desired contour isthe provision of mechanical fastening means but, as she in Fig. l, thesaid blocks, desigtll for securing the face plate to the body portionnoted in their entirety by the neral it, are 40 in combination with alayer of suitable adhesive rectangular, and this is of course the mostconmaterial between the facing and body portoin ventional shape,although they may obviously which serves not only to bond the saidfacing to be of any particular shape or shapes desired. said bodyportion, but also tocushion the facing Each building bloclr it is of acomposite conlti against shoot and blows while at the same timestruction comprisi a body portion is formed of permitting relativeexpansion and contraction a plastic material such as concrete or thelike, of the facing and body portion to minimize brealrand an ornamentallacing it preferably consistage or loosening of the former. I ing of asheet or plate of opaque glass, although still another important objectof the invention ceramic tile or face plates of other materials may tiltis the provision of a buildingblock of theaboye be used in some cases.Therefore, while the face character wherein the glass or otherornamental plate will be hereinafter referred to as being of face plateis provided with a cushioned edge glass, it will be understood that aface plate of which protects the edgesjof the said face plate anydesired satisfactory material may be emfrom chipping or spalling duringthe setting of ployed without departing from the invention.

The glass face plate i4 covers substantially the entire front surface ofthe concrete body portion l3 and interposed between the said facing andbody portion is a relatively thick, substantially uniform layer ofadhesive material is preferably an asphaltic mastic cement which servesnot only to bind the facing to the body portion, but also permitsrelative expansion and contraction between the two without danger of theface plate becoming broken or accidentally displaced. The layer ofadhesive material I5 also serves to cushion the face plate against shockand blows, thereby increasing its resistance to breakage.

Arranged at each edge of the face plate i4 is a metal holder of theconstruction shown in Fig. 5, and these holders cooperate to form aframe extending entirely around the perimeter of the block formechanically securing the said face plate to the body portion. Each ofthese holders or frame members comprises a longitudinally extendingchannel shaped portion I! which, as best shown in Fig. 3, is receivedbetween the face plate l4 and body portion l3 of the block. The outerwall l8 of the channeled portion II constitutes a shoulder which abutsthe rear surface of the face plate, and extending forwardly therefromand at substantially right angles thereto is a flange 19 disposedopposite the respective edge of the face plate and terminating in aninwardly directed lip 20.

The edges 2| of the face plate l4 are square with the opposite surfacesof said face plate and secured thereto is a strip 22 of some suitableresilient material, preferably an asphalt impregnated cork strip,although it may be of rubber, rubber composition, etc. These stripsserve to protect the edges of the face plate and act as a cushion toprevent chipping or spalling of said face plate during the setting ofthe block in place in the wall. For instance, it has been found thatwhen setting blocks of this character, it is often necessary to place atool between adjacent blocks and use it as a wedge to move the blocksinto the exact desired position. Due to the provision of the strips 22,this moving or shifting of the blocks to the desired position can beeffected without danger -of chipping or spelling the edges of the faceplates. It will be noted, upon reference to Fig. 3, that the cork strip22 terminates inwardly of the outer surface oi. the

face plate and that the shoulder 18, flange l9,.

and lip 20 of the metal frame member define a substantially U-shapedchannel in which the said strip 22 is received. This strip is firmlysecured to the edge of the face plate by a suitable adhesive and isrelatively thicker than the width of the lip 20 so that while the lipextends over or overlaps the forward edge of the strip, it does notcontact with the edge of the face plate.

The inner wall 23 of the channeled portion l1, constitutes a shoulderwhich engages the outer surface of the body portion l3, said shoulderprojecting slightly beyond the outer shoulder l8, and extending at rightangles with respect thereto is a relatively wide, flat, load bearingsurface 24 which is disposed opposite the body portion of the block.Formed integral with and constituting a continuation of the load bearingsurface 24 is an inwardly directed flange 25 having a plurality ofangular portions which are embedded and effectively tie into theconcrete body portion l3. I

Each metal frame member may be stamped in a single operation from theform of blank illusthe said frame member, the same reference numeralsbeing used in Fig. 4 as in Fig. 5 to indicate the corresponding parts.The use of a blank of the shape shown in Fig. 4 results in the metalframe'member being mitered at each end when the blank is formed asillustrated in Fig. 2.

In the manufacture of the block l2, the glass face plate it is firstlaid horizontally on a support and one of the metal frame memberspositioned at each side of the face plate so that the outer shoulder iiiof the'channeled portion ll rests upon the rear surface of the faceplate while the lip 20 fits around the cushioning strip 22. Clampingmeans are provided for holding the metal frame members in properposition and the flanges l9 thereof in firm, snug engagement with thestrips 22. The mastic or other adhesive material H5, in a semi-liquidstate, is then poured upon the back of the face plate to coversubstantially the entire surface thereof and to form a. layer of athickness approximately equal to the depth of the channeled portion H.The cement or other plastic material forming the body portion l3.is thendeposited on top of the layer of mastic to cover the same and toconipletely'flll the space defined by the metal frame members. Arnold isalso built up around the frame members to permit the molded body portionI3 to be made considerably thicker than the width of the said framemembers, as shown in Fig. 3, and when this is done it will be seen thatthe flanges 25 of the frame members wil be embedded in the body portion.After the'body portion has set, the mold and clamping means are removedand the block is ready for use. While it is preferred to use cement forthe body portion, the said body portion may be made of any suitablematerial or mixture of materials. In constructing the wall B, the blocksi2 are laid up in courses in much the same manner as cut stone, granite,or terra cotta, being preferably mechanically anchored to the rear wallA in some suitable manner such as by means of tie members 26. Thesemembers are shown as consisting of corrugated, flexible metal stripsembedded in the body portion l3 of the block and also in the mortar llbetween the blocks III of ,the rear wall A. The advantage in making thetie members 26 flexible is so that if the joints in the rear wall A donot coincide with the spacing of the 'tie members, the said tie memberscan be bent to conform to the joints in the rear wall as shown in Fig.3. In laying the blocks l2 of wall B, they are preferably spaced fromthe wall A and interposed-between the two is a layer of mortar 21. I

Due to the fact that the load bearing surfaces 24 of the metal framemembers project beyond the, edges of the face plate l4, there will beformed around the edges of the body portion l3 a continuous ledge 28which also projects slightly beyond the edges of the said face plate, asa result, when the blocks are laid up in courses in a wall, the loadbearing surfaces 24 of vertically adjacent blocks will engage oneanother while the edges of-the adjacent face plates will be spacedslightly from each other, and in this space is adapted to be inserted asuitable caulking material 29. This caulking material may be applied bymeans of a spray gun and will or-- (Efli plates N. 'In other words, theload of one block is transferred directly to the next lower block, andeach block takes the full strain of the blocks above it. Since it isimpossible for the vertically adjacent face plates to engage one anotherwhen the blocks are put in place, the strain upon the said face plateswill be reduced -to a minimum, thereby eliminating breakage and chippingthereof. While the load bearing surfaces 24 are shown in Fi 3, asdirectly contacting one another, they may be slightly spaced by arelatively thin layer of mortar, therebetween, and in such case the loadof one block will be transferred to the next lower block directlythrough this layer of mortar.

The construction of the block is such that the face plate does notsupport any of the load when the block is set into the wall and thelayer of adhesive material between the face plate and body portion takescare of any differences in expansion and contraction between the twomaterials, thus minimizing danger of breakage of the face plate underexpansion or construction. Also, the uniform layer of adhesive materiall provides a cushion for the face plate to minimize the liability ofbreakage thereof. By the combination of mechanical fastening means andadhesive material, the face plate is firmly secured to the body portionwith practically no danger whatever of its becoming accidentallydisplaced.

When the blocks are mounted in place, the body portions Id of verticallyadjacent blocks will also be spaced from one another inwardly of theload bearing surfaces 24 and this space can be filled with a layer ofmortar 30. As the lips ft of the metal frame members are disposedslightly inwardly of the outer surface of the glass face plate, thecaulking material 29 will conceal the said lips and give the appearanceof a wall built up of only the glass face plates, as these plates willbe the only parts of the bloclrs exposed to view. This will result in awall of exceptionally pleasing and attractive appearance. The caulkingmaterial 29 is also adapted to" be inserted in the vertical jointsbetween horizontally adjacent blocks.

in Fig. ii is illustrated a slightly different form r of blocls whichincludes all of the novel features and advantages of the form of blockdescribed above, and the same reference numerals are used to designatethe corresponding parts. The only difference between this form of bloclrand the bloclr shown in Fig.3 is that in Fig. 6 the edges ill of theglass face plates it are beveled outwardly and the inner surfaces of thecashinning strips it are correspondingly beveled. l-lowever, the outersurfaces of the cushioning strips are square with the opposite surfacesof the face plate, as in Fig. 3, so that the same metal frame membersmay be used. The advantage of this particular construction is that bybet/cling the edges of the face plate and the inner surfaces of thestrips 22, a more positive gripping action is obtained between the saidface plate and strips to more firmly hold the face plate againstpossible accidental displacement.

in Fig. i is disclosed still another form of bloclr in which thecushioning. strips 22 are eliminated as are also the lips on the metalframe members. In lieu thereof, the edges 2| of the face plates areoutwardly beveled while the flanges if of the metal frame members arearranged at an acute angle with respect to the shoulders it so as tosnugly fit over said beveled edges,

thereby firmly tying the face plate to the body portion.

A separate application has been filed to cover the apparatus originallydisclosed in this application for use in the manufacture of the buildingblocks herein provided and which disclosure was subsequently cancelledin compliance with the requirement for division. Said divisionalapplication is Serial No. 358,150, filed Sept. 24, 1940, entitledApparatus for use in the manufacture of building blocks.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, andthat various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

\l. A building block of the character described comprising a bodyportion formed from a plastic material, a face plate covering a surfaceof the body portion, cushioning strips engaging the edges of the faceplate, and fastening means having portions overlapping the forward edgesof said strips but spaced from the edges of said face plate and otherportions engaging the body portion for securing the face plate to thebody portion, said fastening means projecting beyond the edges of theface plate so that when the blocks are laid up in courses in a wall, thesaid face plates do not support any load, a portion of said fasteningmeans engaging the rear surface of the faceplate for spacing the saidplate from said body portion.

2. A building block of the character described comprising a body portionformed from a plastic material, a face plate covering a surface of thebody portion, cushioning strips engaging the edges of the face plate,and fastening means for securing the face plate to the body portion including a metal frame member arranged at each edge of the'block andhaving portions overlapping the forward cdges of said strips but spacedfrom the edges of said face plate and othervportions embedded in thebody portion, said frame members projecting beyond the edges of the faceplate to provide load bearing surfaces so that when the blocks are laidup in courses in a wall, the said face plates do not support any load,each of the said frame members having a portion engaging the rearsurfaceof the face plate for spacing the said face plate from said bodyportion.

3. A building bloclr of the character described comprising a bodyportion formed from a plastic material, a face plate covering a surfaceof the body portion, cushioning strips engaging the edges of the faceplate, and fastening means for securing the face plate to the bodyportion including a metal frame member arranged at each edge of theblock and having portions over1apping the forward edges of said stripsbut spaced from the edges of said face plate and other portions emded inthe body portion, said frame members projecting beyond the edges of theface plate to provide load bearing surfaces so that when the blocks arelaid up in courses in a wall, the said face plates do not support anyload, each of the said frame members having a portion dis-v posedbetween the face plate and body portion for spacing the former fromthe-latter, and a layer of adhesive material filling the space betweenthe said face plate and body portion.

4.. A building block of the character described comprising a bodyportion formed from a plastic material, a face plate covering a surfaceof the body portion, cushioning strips engaging the edges of the faceplate, and fastening means for securing the face plate to the bodyportion having channel portions overlying the edges of the face plateand receiving the cushioning strips therein and other portions engagingsaid body portion, said fastening means projecting beyond the edges ofthe face plate so that when the blocks are laid up in courses in a wall,the said face plates do not support any load.

5. A building block of the character described comprising a body portionformed from a plastic material, a face plate covering a surface of thebody portion, cushioning -strips engaging the edges of the face plate,and fastening means for securing the face plate to the body portionincluding a metal frame member arranged at each edge of the block andhaving a channel portion overlying the edge of the face plate andreceiving the respective cushioning strip therein and other portionsembedded in the body portion, said frame members projecting beyond theedges of the face plate to provide load bearing surfaces so that whenthe blocks are laid up in courses in a wall, the said face plates do notsupport any load, each of said frame members having a portion engagingthe rear surface of the face plate for spacing the said plate from saidbody portion.

6. A building block of the character described comprising abody portionformed from a plastic material, a face plate covering a surface of thebody portion, cushioning strips engaging the edges of the face plate,and fastening means for securing the face plate to the body portionincluding a metal frame member arranged at each edge of the block andhaving a channel portion overlying the edge of the face plate andreceiving the respective cushioning strip therein and other portionsembedded in the body portion, said frame members projecting beyond theedges of the face plate to provide load bearing surfaces so that whenthe blocks are laid up in courses in a wall, the said face plates do notsupport any load, the said frame members having portions disposedbetween the face plate and body portion for spacing the former from thelatter, and a layer of adhesive material filling the space between thesaid face and body portion.

7. A building block of the character described, comprising a bodyportion formed from' a oe-' mentitious material, a face plate covering asurface of the body portion, cushioning strips engaging the edges of theface plate, and fastening means for securing the face plate to the-bodyportion including a metal frame member arranged at each edge of theblock and having portions overlapping the forward edges of saidcushioning strips but spaced from the edges of the face plate and otherportions engaging said body portion, said frame members having portionsprojecting beyond the edges of the face plate in a plane parallel withthe plane of said face plate to provide load bearing surfaces so thatwhen the blocks are laid up in courses in a wall the said face plates donot support any load.

8. A building block of the character described, comprising a bodyportion formed from acementitious material, a. face plate covering asurface of the body portion, cushioning strips engaging the edges of theface plate, and fastening means for securing the face plate to the bodyportion including metal frame members arranged at the edges of the blockand each having a portion embedded in said body portion; a shoulderengaging the rear surface of said face plate, and a lip opposite theedge of said face plate but spaced therefrom and cooperating with saidshoulder to form a channel overlying the edge of said face plate andreceiving the re spective cushioning strip therein, said frame membershaving portions projecting beyond the edges of the face plate in a planeparallel with the plane of said face plate to provide load bearingsurfaces so that when the blocks are laid up in courses in a wall thesaid face plates do not support any load.

9. A building block of the character described, comprising a bodyportion formed from a cementitious material, a face plate covering asurface of the body portion, cushioning strips engaging the'edges of theface plate, and fastening means for securing the face plate to the bodyportion including metal frame members arranged at the edges of the blockand each having a portion engaging the respective cushioning strip andanother portion engaging said body portion, and a channelv formed ineach frame member between the back of the face plate and the bodyportion and spacing said face plate from said body portion.

10. A building block of the character described, comprising a bodyportion formed from a cementitious material, a face plate covering asurface of the body portion, cushioning strips engaging the edges of theface plate, and fastening means for meaning the face plate to the bodyportion including metal frame members arranged at the edges of the blockand each having a portion engaging the respective cushioning strip andanother portion engaging said body portion, and a. channel formed ineach frame member between the back of the face plate and the bodyportion and spacing said face plate from said body portion, said bodyportion extending beyond the edges of the face plate in a plane parallelwith the plane of said face plate and also beyond those portions of themetal frame members engaging the cushioning strips for carrying the loadof the wall when the blocks are laid up in a wall and for spacing theface plates of vertically adjacent blocks from one another when saidblocks are placed one upon the other whereby said face plates do notsupport any load of the wall.

11. A building block of the character described, comprising a bodyportion formed from a cementitious material, a face plate covering asurface of the body portion, cushioning strips engaging the edges of theface plate, fastening means for securing said face plate to said bodyportion ,including metal frame members ar-, ranged at the edges of theblock and each having a portion embedded in said body portion; a channelportion'arranged between the back of' the face plate and the bodyportion and spacing said face plate from said body portion, and a secondchannel portion overlying an edge of the face plate and receiving therespective cushioning j strip therein. 12. A building block of thecharacter described, comprisinga body portion formed from a cementitiousmaterial, a face plate covering a surface of the body portion,cushioning strips engaging the edges of the face plate, fastening meansfor securing said face plate to 'said' body portion including metalframe members arranged at the edges of the block and each having aportion embedded in said body portion; a channel portion arrangedbetween the back of the face plate and the body portion and spacing saidface plate from said body portion, and a second channel portionoverlying an edge of the face plate and receiving the respectivecushioning strip therein, said body portion extending beyond the edgesof the face plate in a plane parallel with the plane of said face plateand also beyond the channel portions overlying the edges of the faceplate for carrying the load of the wall when the blocks are laid up in awall and for spacing the face plates of vertically adjacent blocks fromone another when said blocks are placed one upon the other whereby saidface plates do not support any load of the wall.

13. A building block of the character described, comprising a bodyportion formed from a cementitious'material, a face plate covering asurface of the body portion, said body portion having a ledge projectingbeyond the edges of the face plate in a plane parallel with the plane ofsaid face plate, cushioning strips engaging the edges of the face plate,and fastening means for securing the face plateto the bodyportion-including metal frame members arranged at the edges of the blockand each having a portion engaging the respective cushioning strip;another portion engaging said body portion and a further portioncovering the outer edge of the projecting ledge on said body portion toprovide a load bearing surface, the said ledge extending beyond theedges of the face plate and also beyond those portions of the metalframe members engaging the cushioning strips upon the load supportingsides" of the block to such an extent that when the blocks are laid upin courses in a wall, with the load bearing surfaces of the metal framemembers in engagement with one another, the face plates of verticallyadjacent blocks will be spaced from one another and will not support anyof the load of the wall.

14. A building block of the character described, comprising a bodyportion formed from a cementitious material, a face plate covering asurface of the body portion, said body portion being provided with aledge projecting beyondthe edges of said face plate in a plane parallelwith the plane of said face plate, cushioning strips engaging the edgesof the face plate, and fastening means for securing the face plate tothe body portion including metal frame members arranged at the edges ofthe block and each having a portion overlying an edge of the face plateand engaging the respective cushioning strip; another portion engagingsaid body portion and a further portion covering'the outer edge of saidledge, and a channel formed in each metal frame member between the backof the face plate and the body portion and spacing said face plate fromsaid body portion, the said ledge extending beyond the edges of the faceplate and also beyond those portions of the metal frame. members en-ERLE T. PUTNAM.

